The Life of a Thief
by TrappedFlower
Summary: Nineteen year old Eugene Fitzherbert finally leaves the orphanage to start a new life. He meets many faces along the path and embarks on dangerous missions. While learning to become a thief, he is also learning surprising facts about his past.


Hello everybody! Welcome to my fanfiction for the movie Tangled. Now, in this first chapter, there wont be any words that will need translation, but in the next one there will be so I'll include them in the top [here]. Thanks for reading! :D

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><p>She smiled at me, a sad one , and I could see that this conversation was not going to end well. "Eugene, I believe you have come of age. Your nineteen now, you know. We usually don't keep children as long as you have been here."<p>

We've had this conversation before. I knew we did. I had tried so hard, giving my argument, just to stay here. I couldn't leave just yet. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the chipped walls, the splintered beams, and the creaky floors under my feet. But now, being nineteen, my argument had become it's hardest yet to fire back. Now that I was nineteen, I could no longer feel the wood under my feet. I could no longer feel the world. Because this orphanage was my world. And at nineteen, I knew I had to leave.

"Your eighteenth birthday has come and past. When our little flowers have grown so much, it is finally time to plant them out in new soil. Eugene, you do not belong here anymore." Mrs.. Lander waves her wrinkled hand to the open door, where two children had skipped out of. "You're an adult now, Mr. Fitzherbert. And, I think it's finally time to go and make a life of your own." She stared out the door for a while, people watching. She likes to look out in the streets, looking for adults she used to call her children.

"B-But Mrs. Lander, you still need help, and you know you can always count on me. I'm always here, so when something breaks I can fix it. I clean the place as best as I can, and help you take care of the children, not to mention wash the dishes and-"

"Eugene. I have already made my decision." She interrupted. "I know you may not see it now, but this is the best thing for you." Her hands gripped mine, as a paper plane whizzed by my ear. And suddenly, she looked up and gazed into my bronze eyes with confidence, as if she could see the future. "You will make something great of yourself."

I knelt down a reached under my dingy bed and pulled out a book. Sighing, I glanced at the title, "The Tales of Flynnigan Rider" and packed it into my sack of personal items. But then, I heard my name called.

"Eugene..."

I stood and turned my head. and the other woman who ran the orphanage were behind me. "Before you go," one of the newer ladies spoke up,"we would at least like to give you a few things, to help you along the way." I glanced to the items she was holding in her hands as she walked up to me. "All the woman who work here pitched in." Handing the items to me, my fingers recognized the fabric, although it had been years since he felt the warm, smooth pallet. I whispered, "Leather...?" to myself. Or so I thought. One of the woman in the group spoke up, "Yes. We really want the best for you, Eugene. And you deserve them. You'd be mighty cold if all you had was a flimsy shirt and breeches." She waved to my thin clothes and bare feet. My face heated as all the woman's eyes scanned me. I set my eyes on the gift, and unfolded it. In my hands was a blue leather vest, with brass clasps and buttons. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was quite extravagant. Living in an orphanage, you never get- heck, you never even see something like this. It felt alien to be holding the fancy vest in this tattered, broken down orphanage. "T-This is too much. It can't be for me, I mean..." My voice faded as I stared in awe at the woman. "But that's not all, mister." Mrs. Lander added. She knelt and picked up a pair of brown leather boots, and headed towards me. "These are yours, too." Meeting my surprised eyes, she pressed the boots into my hands as the vest lay limp on arm. The boots were firm; made to last. And they even looked my size. That was surprising, because seeing these boots, all I could think was, "I'm not meant to wear these. This must be a mistake. They are meant for somebody else." And all I could manage was to gawk at them."You mustn't thank us, but this is us thanking you. For all the help, and for being a wonderful young man." Mrs. Lander smiled, but this one was different. This one was a farewell.


End file.
